Heeey everyone :) Thank you so much for all your amazing reviews! I'm glad you all like it ;) I've been getting so many suggestions for stories I should read, and I would read the stories that you guys are suggesting, but there's so many amazing Skye/Lucas stories out there and I just know that they're going to affect how I portray the characters in this story. I want the plot and characteristics of the characters in my story to be as original as possible (hypocritical seeing as Terra Nova isn't mine, I know :$). After I finish this story, I'm going to go back and read all the stories you guys suggested :) Enjoy this chapter!

It took an hour for Lucas to bring himself to pull away from Skye to leave for his tasks for the day. After Skye had accepted the ring, they had made love at least two more times before the sun rose completely, forcing them to stop before someone heard. Lucas felt as though he had memorized every last part of Skye's body, from the way she wrinkled her nose slightly when she didn't get her way to the tiny freckle on her hipbone. When Lucas got up to leave, he found himself rolling right back into bed to kiss Skye one last time, and before he knew it, a kiss had turned into something much more.

Hours later, Skye found herself down on the main deck with Savannah, unable to stop thinking about that morning. The flowers had been so incredibly sweet, and Skye had watered every last shrub before leaving the room, determined to keep them alive for as long as she could. As for the rest of the morning, Skye's pelvis and legs were aching as though she had run to Terra Nova and back. As much as he tried not to be, Lucas was a rough one. Not that Skye was complaining. She couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of Lucas's chest against hers, the vibrations of his voice moving through her body, his lips against hers…

Skye shook her head clear, turning her attention to Savannah. "So how's Sparky doing today?"

"He's good," said Savannah, turning around to smile at Skye. The baby dinosaur was in her arms and she was feeding it a sort of plant puree through a small bottle. "He's grown!"

"Has he?" asked Skye, peering over Savannah's shoulder to take a look at the Ankylosaur. To her surprise, Savannah was right. The dinosaur seemed to have grown at least an inch overnight, leading Skye to wonder how much longer Savannah could keep it as a house pet. She would hate to be the one to inform Savannah that she would eventually have to let the dinosaur go, so Skye kept quiet.

Savannah turned to Skye as she fed Sparky, her eyes surveying her face. "Are you going to marry Lucas?"

Skye's eyes widened at the bluntness of the question, momentarily speechless. She finally brought herself to speak out of complete honesty. "Y-yes, I am. How did you know?"

Skye wasn't even wearing her engagement ring; she had looped it onto a ribbon and was wearing it around her neck on Lucas's suggestion. Savannah smiled innocently, turning back to the baby dinosaur in her arms. "He looks at you like he loves you."

Savannah's honest observation struck Skye like lightening, but much more pleasant. A smile spread across Skye's face as she thought about Savannah's words, and she felt as though she could fly. Savannah looked up at Skye, her eyes wide. "You won't leave like Deb, will you?"

Skye's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "Deb? Who's that?"

Savannah's eyebrows furrowed and her mouth turned down the slightest bit. "She was staying in your room a few months ago. I used to talk to her every day… from the door, because she was sick and Mommy didn't want me to get sick, but Deb was nice. I miss her."

Skye felt a lump in her throat and tried to keep her tears in. Deb, as in Deborah, as in Skye's mother. A part of Skye's heart seemed to melt away, leaving a hole that only her mother's love could fill. She missed her mother more than she could express, and though she didn't want to admit it, every last ounce of Lucas's love couldn't fix that. Skye turned to Savannah, who was watching her carefully. "Don't worry. I won't leave."

Savannah let out a sigh of relief, her smile returning to her face. Skye smiled back, her mouth quivering slightly. A sudden stroke of curiosity inspired Skye's next question. "Did Lucas, uh, talk to Deb?"

Savannah furrowed her brows together, thinking. "They used to talk about a bucket a lot, but I dunno which bucket they were talking about."

Skye felt her voice catch in her throat, and she swallowed hard to free her voice. "A bucket?"

"Yeah," replied Savannah, looking up at Skye with wide eyes. "Deb wouldn't tell him anything at first, but then I think she said something to him a few days before she left."

Skye pressed her lips together. She knew exactly which Bucket they were talking about. Skye looked down at her hands, wondering if Lucas had started loving her that far back. Then again, he could have been asking about her to find out if she would betray him. Which she did. Thrice.

"So," Skye looked back at Savannah suddenly, speculating how much the girl picked up while living at the Sixer camp. "How was Lucas? Before I came here?"

Savannah stroked Sparky's head absentmindedly as she spoke. "He was always busy, and he never had time to play with me. And sometimes he gets really mad and they don't let me talk to him for a few days after."

"What do you mean, really mad?" asked Skye, frowning. Savannah looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes, and Skye felt a pang of guilt for using the girl for information.

"He would turn all red and punch the wall," said Savannah, tapping a finger against her chin. "Unless he had a gun. Then everyone just ran away."

Skye's frown deepened, and she made a mental note to ask Lucas about these temper tantrums. Not only were they harmful to him, but they were affecting those around him, including Savannah. Skye reached out and untangled Savannah's hair from the thin gold chain around her neck. "Well, you tell me if he does that ever again."

"Okay," said Savannah, turning back to Sparky. Skye bit down on her lower lip, wondering how bad Lucas's temper could get. She knew that he wouldn't hurt her, but she couldn't say the same for Taylor and everyone else in Terra Nova, which Lucas referred to as his father's 'side'.

Skye reached out towards Sparky, running a finger lightly over Sparky's scaly-looking head. To her surprise, the skin was only partially hard. The actual flesh of the Ankylosaur was soft, almost spongy. Savannah laughed at Skye's surprise. "He's squishy, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," laughed Skye, shaking her head slightly at Savannah's way to describing Sparky. For a moment, Skye wished that she was six again. For one, her father was still alive when she was six. Her family was happy. And things were much less complicated. But Skye knew that the past was the past, and there was no way to go back to it.

Skye leaned back onto her hands. Like Lucas had said that morning, she could never have a normal life with him. They would probably have to stay in the Sixer camp for the rest of their lives, and Skye would never get to see her friends and family ever again. She seriously doubted that they could have children, seeing as the Sixers were in constant danger. Savannah was a perfect example of how having children in the Sixer camp could end badly. Her mother was now locked up, probably worrying about her daughter every second of the day. Skye could never bring children into a world where their safety wasn't guaranteed.

But Skye knew just as well that Lucas was one hundred percent worth it. He could be cruel and inhumane at times, but Skye had seen his kind, considerate side many times before. In all honesty, Lucas's worst characteristics evolved because he was damaged. His life had been horrible, much worse than Skye's, and she didn't even know the full story yet. Some might have taken Skye's love for him as pity, but Skye knew that despite the fact that she did pity him, she also marveled at how strong he was. Lucas inspired Skye in more than one way, and she was happy with him. To her, that was all that mattered.

Suddenly, commotion arose at the front of the colony, interrupting Skye's thoughts. Savannah looked up, setting Sparky back down in his tank. Skye stood up to get a better look, and her heart sank when she saw what was going on.

Mira climbed up the ladder accompanied by a handful of Sixers, looking terrifyingly angry. Skye had a feeling that her rage had something to do with the fact that Lucas left her in Terra Nova, and she shrank down, knowing that her presence wouldn't make things better. Skye found herself wishing that Lucas was there; she could defend herself against anyone – or anything – except for Mira.

To Skye's dismay, Mira's piercing eyes found Skye within the first few seconds of setting foot on the Sixer camp. Savannah reached out and grabbed Skye's arm, turning Skye's attention to the girl. Savannah looked positively terrified, and her knuckles were turning white from holding onto Skye. Skye patted Savannah's arm, her eyes turning back to Mira.

Mira was storming towards Skye, her posse flanking her sides like hyenas. Before Skye could stand up, Mira pulled out an intimidating gun and pointed it at Skye, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Get up."

Skye stood up slowly, trying to pry Savannah's hand off her arm. If Mira was going to shoot her, Skye didn't want Savannah anywhere near it. Savannah, however, tightened her grip and seemed to be trying to push Skye away. Mira, sensing the movement, turned the gun on Savannah. "Tell her to walk away or she goes first."

Skye's heart began to pound in her ears, and she bent down until she was at Savannah's level. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she spoke to the little girl. "Savannah. You need to go, okay? Go back inside, and don't come back until someone comes to get you."

"Skye, is she going to kill you?" whispered Savannah, tears filling up in her eyes. A lump formed in Skye's throat as she reached out to wipe the tears from Savannah's cheeks.

"No," lied Skye, biting back her tears. "No, she won't. Don't worry about me. But Savannah, you need to go back inside, okay?"

Savannah looked from Skye to Mira before releasing her vice-like grip from Skye's arm. "Okay."

Skye gave Savannah a light push towards the tree house structure, but Savannah turned towards the playground and ran off. Savannah looked back at Skye as she left, but Skye had turned her gaze to Mira. "What do you want?"

Before Skye knew what was happening, Mira lunged towards her and pressed the gun against her temple, signaling the Sixers who had accompanied her. One of the Sixers headed for the main control room of the camp and emerged with a communicator. The others grabbed Skye and pulled her, kicking and screaming, towards the ladder. Skye found herself being thrown into a rover before she could even try to get away, and Mira got in beside her, the gun still trained on her head.

"Good to see you, Bucket," sneered Mira, pulling out the communicator. One of the Sixers got into the front of the rover and started the rover, pulling it out of the Sixer camp. Mira fiddled with the communicator in one hand while the other held the gun, and Skye's eyes flitted around as she tried to find an escape route.

"Sixer camp, you called?"

Skye's head snapped up at the sound of Lucas's raspy voice, and she found herself recalling their morning together again, despite her conditions. Mira turned her gaze towards Skye, her expression terrifyingly devilish. "Lucas Taylor. Isn't this nice?"

"Mira," Lucas growled, his voice crackling through the communicator. Skye squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry. She knew that Lucas was too far to come back. She knew that she was going to die.

"So you remember me?" asked Mira sarcastically, the trigger of the gun clicking threateningly. Skye flinched at the click of the trigger, and Mira's mouth twisted into a smirk so unlike Lucas's that Skye shuddered.

"How did you get out?"

"Well, I had some business to attend to," explained Mira, her eyes narrowing. "And a guest to visit. Do you want to know who?"

Mira reached out and pulled on Skye's hair sharply, making her scream in pain as the hair pulled at her wound. She crumpled down onto the floor of the rover, clutching at her head. Mira kicked Skye in the side with her steel-toed boots, drawing out another shriek of pain.

Skye could barely hear Lucas swearing through the communicator as her ears rang from the recent attack. "Mira, I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb."

"Not while I have her," growled Mira, throwing another kick into Skye's side. "And trust me. She won't be in paradise."

With that, Mira tossed the active communicator into the corner of the rover, ignoring Lucas's shouts, and turned back to Skye. Skye forced her eyes to open, tears streaming down her face. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Of course," said Mira simply, leaning over onto her arms to glare down at Skye. "But not before I make you suffer."

Damn Mira always has to ruin everything... but then again, that always gives Lucas room to play the knight in shining armor ;) Till next time!